Pages

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What goes down must come up

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Miriam Cuddington takes a deep breath as she grips the rope — 3, 2, 1, go — and races against the clock in an attempt to break her own 30-meter vertical climbing record for the women's 60-69 age group.

She set the current record of 1 minute, 17.7 seconds last year at the National Speleological Society (NSS) convention in Vermont.

This year's convention, being held all this week in Glenwood Springs, presents a different challenge — altitude.

Bill Cuddington of Moulton, Ala., is a legend in the caving world for developing and perfecting different single-rope techniques to access deep vertical caves. He and his wife, Miriam Cuddington, are avid members of the National Speleological Society and are in Glenwood Springs for the NSS convention this week.

Miriam, who will celebrate her 68th birthday during the convention on Friday, ascends the rope rapidly, yet gracefully during the NSS vertical contest Tuesday in the Glenwood Springs High School auxiliary gym.

She's using a mechanical climbing system known as the Mitchell system. It involves a harness apparatus with ropes and rollers attached to the ankles and wrists, and was developed in the late 1960s by Dick Mitchell. He is also attending this week's convention.

Miriam Cuddington attempts to beat her own record time in the 30-meter vertical rope climb on Tuesday at the Glenwood Springs High School auxiliary gym. She ascended the 98-foot rope in 1 minute, 19.2 seconds on Tuesday — nearly 2 seconds faster than on Monday, but still 1.5 seconds shy of her record from 2010. The vertical contest is a regular part of the annual National Speleological Society convention.

“It's a type of ascending system that is relatively easy to use without a lot of training,” Mitchell explains. “It's very natural; you basically stand erect and walk up the rope, similar to walking up a ladder.”

Feeding the climbing rope to Miriam using a pulley system is her husband, vertical caving legend, coach and mentor Bill Cuddington.

With 7 meters to go, Miriam's pace slows some but she grinds on, completing the ascent in 1 minute, 19.2 seconds.

The time was nearly 2 seconds faster than a day earlier, but still 1.5 seconds shy of her record from last year.

“The air's a tad thin here, especially for an Alabama girl,” Miriam quips as she tries to catch her breath after the feat. “It was pretty hard to keep up the pace that last 25 [seconds].”

Vertical pioneersThe Cuddingtons, who reside in Moulton, Ala., are regulars at the NSS convention every year.

Bill Cuddington originated the vertical contest as one of the convention attractions in the 1960s. At age 77, he still organizes and competes in the event every year.

He and Miriam both hold age group records in all three climbing disciplines — mechanical, three-knot and sit-stand — both at 30 meters and 120 meters.

Bill, who grew up in North Carolina, first started caving in 1952. He soon began developing and perfecting different single-rope techniques to access some of the harder-to-reach caves.

“There were a lot of vertical caves that no one had been in because they were too hard to climb down into,” he said.

Unlike rock climbing, in which climbers make the ascent first and then come down, vertical cavers do the descent first, then come back up. The other thing that's different is that cavers try to make as little contact with the cave walls as possible, in an effort to protect the sensitive cave ecosystem.

“I got in on it during the golden age of caving,” Bill said. “The climbing systems have vastly improved over the years, and I was lucky enough to be in on it.”

He began working for the PMI rope company in 1976, and still works in the company's research and development department.

In 2008, he was featured in the book, “Vertical Bill,” by David Hughes, who is also at this week's convention and whose book is available at the official NSS bookstore.

The book chronicles the life and caving experiences of the man widely acknowledged as the “Father of Vertical Caving.”

“Throughout early years of ridicule, derision, harassment and outright hostility, Cuddington remained true to his ideals and stayed on course,” reads the sleeve note on the book. “Along the way, ‘Vertical Bill' plumbed many ‘bottomless' pits, enjoyed a lifetime of adventures, and collected a smorgasbord of rope climbing records.”

“I'm the only one in my age group now, so I just climb against the clock,” he says today.

He still holds the 60-69 age group record in the 120-meter mechanical climb of 6 minutes, 11 seconds. And, in 2009, he earned recognition for climbing a total of 44,200 feet over 71 climbs, averaging a little more 600 feet per climb.

Tagging alongMiriam Cuddington could hardly fall in love with Bill without falling in love with caving and climbing at the same time.

“I came from a family of 12 children, so I was always active, wanting to do whatever it was my brothers and sisters were doing,” she said. “When I met Bill, I didn't realize what caving was all about, but it looked fun.”

It was at the 1969 NSS convention in Lovell, Wyo., that she was first introduced to the vertical climbing competition.

“I was watching these people climb and I couldn't understand why they could go up the rope so easy,” she said of her introduction to the Mitchell system.

The other thing she noticed was that there were no women in the competition, just men. So, she set out to change that.

“I asked Bill if I could try it out, and I did my first climb,” she said. “It really broke the ice for the wives of other cavers to do it, and it made me want to start climbing.”

When it came to actual cave exploration, Miriam admitted she did have to get over her fear of going down into a dark hole. But she soon learned that she was never alone, either.

“I came from a big family, but now I have an even bigger family,” she said. “The thing about caving is that you help each other out, and you always have someone there right by your side.”

The two-day NSS vertical competition concluded Tuesday afternoon, as climbers of all ages attempted new records, or just stopped by to work on their technique as part of the re-belay workshop.

“Most aren't really here to break records, but to improve their own personal times, or just try out new systems,” said Bill Boehle, who has helped out with the contest at several conventions. “It's really fun to see how the equipment has evolved and the different rigs people come up with.”

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What goes down must come up

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Miriam Cuddington takes a deep breath as she grips the rope — 3, 2, 1, go — and races against the clock in an attempt to break her own 30-meter vertical climbing record for the women's 60-69 age group.

She set the current record of 1 minute, 17.7 seconds last year at the National Speleological Society (NSS) convention in Vermont.

This year's convention, being held all this week in Glenwood Springs, presents a different challenge — altitude.

Bill Cuddington of Moulton, Ala., is a legend in the caving world for developing and perfecting different single-rope techniques to access deep vertical caves. He and his wife, Miriam Cuddington, are avid members of the National Speleological Society and are in Glenwood Springs for the NSS convention this week.

Miriam, who will celebrate her 68th birthday during the convention on Friday, ascends the rope rapidly, yet gracefully during the NSS vertical contest Tuesday in the Glenwood Springs High School auxiliary gym.

She's using a mechanical climbing system known as the Mitchell system. It involves a harness apparatus with ropes and rollers attached to the ankles and wrists, and was developed in the late 1960s by Dick Mitchell. He is also attending this week's convention.

Miriam Cuddington attempts to beat her own record time in the 30-meter vertical rope climb on Tuesday at the Glenwood Springs High School auxiliary gym. She ascended the 98-foot rope in 1 minute, 19.2 seconds on Tuesday — nearly 2 seconds faster than on Monday, but still 1.5 seconds shy of her record from 2010. The vertical contest is a regular part of the annual National Speleological Society convention.

“It's a type of ascending system that is relatively easy to use without a lot of training,” Mitchell explains. “It's very natural; you basically stand erect and walk up the rope, similar to walking up a ladder.”

Feeding the climbing rope to Miriam using a pulley system is her husband, vertical caving legend, coach and mentor Bill Cuddington.

With 7 meters to go, Miriam's pace slows some but she grinds on, completing the ascent in 1 minute, 19.2 seconds.

The time was nearly 2 seconds faster than a day earlier, but still 1.5 seconds shy of her record from last year.

“The air's a tad thin here, especially for an Alabama girl,” Miriam quips as she tries to catch her breath after the feat. “It was pretty hard to keep up the pace that last 25 [seconds].”

Vertical pioneersThe Cuddingtons, who reside in Moulton, Ala., are regulars at the NSS convention every year.

Bill Cuddington originated the vertical contest as one of the convention attractions in the 1960s. At age 77, he still organizes and competes in the event every year.

He and Miriam both hold age group records in all three climbing disciplines — mechanical, three-knot and sit-stand — both at 30 meters and 120 meters.

Bill, who grew up in North Carolina, first started caving in 1952. He soon began developing and perfecting different single-rope techniques to access some of the harder-to-reach caves.

“There were a lot of vertical caves that no one had been in because they were too hard to climb down into,” he said.

Unlike rock climbing, in which climbers make the ascent first and then come down, vertical cavers do the descent first, then come back up. The other thing that's different is that cavers try to make as little contact with the cave walls as possible, in an effort to protect the sensitive cave ecosystem.

“I got in on it during the golden age of caving,” Bill said. “The climbing systems have vastly improved over the years, and I was lucky enough to be in on it.”

He began working for the PMI rope company in 1976, and still works in the company's research and development department.

In 2008, he was featured in the book, “Vertical Bill,” by David Hughes, who is also at this week's convention and whose book is available at the official NSS bookstore.

The book chronicles the life and caving experiences of the man widely acknowledged as the “Father of Vertical Caving.”

“Throughout early years of ridicule, derision, harassment and outright hostility, Cuddington remained true to his ideals and stayed on course,” reads the sleeve note on the book. “Along the way, ‘Vertical Bill' plumbed many ‘bottomless' pits, enjoyed a lifetime of adventures, and collected a smorgasbord of rope climbing records.”

“I'm the only one in my age group now, so I just climb against the clock,” he says today.

He still holds the 60-69 age group record in the 120-meter mechanical climb of 6 minutes, 11 seconds. And, in 2009, he earned recognition for climbing a total of 44,200 feet over 71 climbs, averaging a little more 600 feet per climb.

Tagging alongMiriam Cuddington could hardly fall in love with Bill without falling in love with caving and climbing at the same time.

“I came from a family of 12 children, so I was always active, wanting to do whatever it was my brothers and sisters were doing,” she said. “When I met Bill, I didn't realize what caving was all about, but it looked fun.”

It was at the 1969 NSS convention in Lovell, Wyo., that she was first introduced to the vertical climbing competition.

“I was watching these people climb and I couldn't understand why they could go up the rope so easy,” she said of her introduction to the Mitchell system.

The other thing she noticed was that there were no women in the competition, just men. So, she set out to change that.

“I asked Bill if I could try it out, and I did my first climb,” she said. “It really broke the ice for the wives of other cavers to do it, and it made me want to start climbing.”

When it came to actual cave exploration, Miriam admitted she did have to get over her fear of going down into a dark hole. But she soon learned that she was never alone, either.

“I came from a big family, but now I have an even bigger family,” she said. “The thing about caving is that you help each other out, and you always have someone there right by your side.”

The two-day NSS vertical competition concluded Tuesday afternoon, as climbers of all ages attempted new records, or just stopped by to work on their technique as part of the re-belay workshop.

“Most aren't really here to break records, but to improve their own personal times, or just try out new systems,” said Bill Boehle, who has helped out with the contest at several conventions. “It's really fun to see how the equipment has evolved and the different rigs people come up with.”